Newsletter E-market update

March 10, 2018

March 2018 Newsletter

A “dip” in home sales plus new taxes that will build “affordable housing”??

I’m studying up and preparing myself for all the new rules that come into effect this summer regarding how realtors must conduct their business. It is looking like we will be walking through a “minefield” every time we take a listing or meet a new potential buyer. So many new disclosures to make and documents to get signed. You will no longer have realtors knock on your door saying they have a buyer for your home, since realtors will no longer be allowed to represent both the buyer and the seller. Fair enough I say!

Then the provincial budget comes out and I am still trying to interpret the endgame to all the new promises and taxes. My statistics show that we scared most of the foreign buyers out of Vancouver in 2016 with the 15% foreign buyers tax. Did we need to raise it to 20%? For our local buyers, the property transfer tax has been raised another 2% on the amount over $3M. And then there is the “speculation” tax which targets, not speculators but people who own homes here and do not pay taxes in B.C. Which includes anyone who owns a “vacation” home in B.C. but does not work here. Or leaves the home vacant. Confused yet? I believe that a “speculation” tax should have been placed on the “flipping” of pre-sale condos and homes. This would be more effective making homes affordable.

All these extra taxes are supposed to pay the 6 billion dollars in affordable housing to be built in the next 10 years. That’s where I get really confused. The net result of all these additional taxes will be less revenue (there will be less sales and no more foreign money), not much in the way of affordable housing getting built (developers are too busy and not interested) and first-time buyers are still not going to be able to afford a home in Vancouver.

February Summary

For Metro Vancouver sales of detached homes in February were down 16.6% compared to February 2017. But the benchmark price rose 8.2% in the last year. Condo sales decreased 7.1% compared to February 2017 but the benchmark price increased 27.2% in the same period. Townhome sales decreased 0.7% and the benchmark price rose 18.1% in that same period. With our traditionally busy spring market approaching, we should soon see how buyers and sellers react to the taxes and policy measures our governments have introduced so far. Stay tuned!!

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